Process for the biological production of L-pipecolic acid

ABSTRACT

A process for the production of L-pipecolic acid which comprises the step of reducing delta-1-piperideine-6-carboxylic acid by the use of pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase. The delta-1-piperideine-6-carboxylic acid is obtained by the step of converting L-lysine by the use of lysine 6-aminotransferase encoded by a gene of  Flavobacterium lutescens.  The steps of reducing delta-1-piperideine-6-carboxylic acid and the converting of L-lysine into L-pipecolic acid by the use of lysine 6-aminotransferase are carried out by using a bacterium transformed with a gene encoding lysine 6-aminotransferase wherein such bacterium comprises pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase encoded by a gene of  Escherichia coli  or a coryneform bacterium. A recombinant bacterium which can be used in this production process is also provided. Thus, the present invention can provide an efficient biological process for the production of L-pipecolic acid (or 2-piperidinecarboxylic acid).

This application is a 371 of PCT/JP00/09137, filed on Dec. 22, 2000 and claims foreign priority under 35 U.S.C, 119(a–d) to Japan 11/37389, filed Dec. 28, 1999.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a biological process for the production of L-pipecolic acid (or 2-piperidinecarboxylic acid or L-homoproline) and to recombinant strains of Escherichia coli or coryneform bacteria which can conveniently be used for the process.

BACKGROUND ART

L-Pipecolic acid is important as a raw material for the synthesis of drugs. At present, L-pipecolic acid is being produced by synthesis from L-lysine (J. Chem. Soc. Chem. Commun., 1985, pp. 633–635) or by the optical resolution of DL-pipecolic acid prepared by synthesis from picolinic acid (Method of Enzymol., 17B, pp. 174–188, 1971). As methods for optical resolution, there are known a diastereomer salt method using D-tartaric acid and an enzymatic method in which D-amino acid oxidase derived from pig liver is used to decompose the D-isomer while leaving the L-isomer.

On the other hand, it is known that L-pipecolic acid is produced in animals (J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 211, p. 851, 1954), plants (J. Amer. Chem. Soc., Vol. 74, p. 2949, 1952) and microorganisms (Biochemistry, Vol. 1, pp. 606–612, 1926; Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 38781/'94). However, since the amount of L-pipecolic acid accumulated therein is small, no process for the production of L-pipecolic acid by using these organisms has been put to practical use. From previous investigations on the metabolism of L-lysine, it is known that delta-1-piperideine-6-carboxylic acid (hereinafter also referred to as P6C) is formed from L-lysine through a transamination reaction by lysine 6-aminotransferase (hereinafter also referred to as LAT) (Biochemistry, Vol. 7, pp. 4102–4109, 1968) or by the action of L-lysine 6-dehydrogenase (J. Biochem., Vol. 105, pp. 1002–1008, 1989).

It has been reported P6C can be chemically converted into L-pipecolic acid by hydrogenation using platinum oxide (Biochemistry, Vol. 7, pp. 4102–4109, 1968), but there is no report about the formation of L-pipecolic acid by the biological or enzymatic reduction of P6C. Moreover, a metabolic pathway is supposed in which Pseudomonas putida produces L-pipecolic acid from D-lysine via delta-1-piperideine-2-carboxylic acid. It is also difficult to utilize such biological pathways for the mass production of L-pipecolic acid.

In the above-described process involving the optical resolution of DL-pipecolic acid prepared by chemical synthesis, the optical resolving agent used is expensive and a complicated procedure is required. Moreover, in the process using an enzyme for purposes of optical resolution, the use of a purified enzyme is also expensive. Because of these disadvantages, both processes are not efficient from an industrial point of view and cannot produce L-pipecolic acid cheaply.

Furthermore, conventional processes for the production of L-pipecolic acid by using microorganisms have not been put to practical use because the amount of L-pipecolic acid accumulated is small.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present inventors have now found that pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase [EC 1.5.1.2], which reduces delta-1-pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid to L-proline as shown below,

can also reduce P6C to the corresponding L-pipecolic acid efficiently as shown below.

Moreover, it has also been found that this reduction system may be used by combining it conveniently with other biological P6C production systems.

The present invention is based on these findings and provides a means for producing L-pipecolic acid efficiently by utilizing the action of pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase.

Accordingly, the present invention relates to a process for the production of L-pipecolic acid which comprises the step of reducing delta-1-piperideine-6-carboxylic acid (P6C) by the use of pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the P6C reduction step is combined with the step of converting L-lysine into P6C by the use of lysine 6-aminotransferase (LAT).

The present invention also relates to a recombinant strain of Escherichia coli or a coryneform bacterium which contains a gene encoding LAT in expressible form.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a plasmid related to the present invention which has been constructed in order to produce L-pipecolic acid from L-lysine in Escherichia coli

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a plasmid related to the present invention which has been constructed in order to produce L-pipecolic acid in a coryneform bacterium.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The term “exogenous gene” as used herein means a gene derived from a cell different from the mentioned cell itself, whether the cell is similar or dissimilar to the mentioned cell or bacterium.

Pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (EC 1.5.1.2; hereinafter also referred to as P5C reductase), which is used in the present invention, is commonly known to be an enzyme which participates in a metabolic pathway for synthesizing proline from arginine or glutamic acid. As described above, this enzyme has an activity for reducing delta-1-pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid to proline with the aid of the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) or the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). It is known that P5C reductase is widely distributed in a great variety of bacteria, plants and animals.

P5C reductase that can be used in the present invention is not limited by its origin, so long as it has an activity for reducing P6C to L-pipecolic acid. P5C reductase may be used in any desired form selected from preparations such as a purified enzyme and a cell lysate, and from living cells. When a preparation is used, the addition of NADH or NADPH may sometimes be needed to carry out the reduction in accordance with the present invention.

Delta-1-piperideine-6-carboxylic acid (P6C), which is to be reduced by the use of P5C reductase according to the present invention, corresponds to a compound obtained when 2-aminoadipic acid 6-semialdehyde formed from L-lysine by the action of lysine 6-aminotransferase (LAT) undergoes nonenzymatic ring closing with the elimination of water. Since this semialdehyde is usually considered to be present in an aqueous solution as an equilibrium mixture with P6C, it is understood that P6C and the semialdehyde are equivalent to each other in the reaction system of the present invention. Accordingly, P6C itself, a mixture of P6C and the semialdehyde, or the semialdehyde itself may be added to the reaction system of the present invention, and all of these embodiments are comprehended in the present invention.

As P6C (or 2-aminoadipic acid 6-semialdehyde), there may be used any of the products prepared by various means including chemical synthesis and biological means. However, from the viewpoint of the economical production of L-pipecolic acid that is a particular optical isomer, it is preferable to use P6C having a steric configuration corresponding to that of L-pipecolic acid (specifically, with respect to the asymmetric carbon atom located at the 2-position).

The step of reducing P6C according to the present invention is carried out by making P5C reductase act on P6C under conditions which allow ordinary enzyme reactions to proceed. As described above, P5C reductase may be made to act on P6C in any desired form selected from preparations such as a purified enzyme and a cell lysate, and from living cells. However, in view of the fact that a coenzyme such as NADH or NADPH participates in the aforesaid reaction, it is preferable to use a cell lysate or living cells themselves. As the cells, it is especially preferable to use cells of Escherichia coli or a coryneform bacterium, among microorganisms exhibiting P5C reductase activity capable of converting (or reducing) P6C into L-pipecolic acid. It is known that the proC gene encoding P5C reductase is present in Escherichia coli, and the sequence of proC and its expression have been reported (see A. H. Deutch et al., Nucleic Acids Research, Vol. 10, 1982, 7701–7714).

Accordingly, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, P6C can be reduced to L-pipecolic acid by incubating Escherichia coli having P5C reductase activity, or Escherichia coli or another microorganism containing the aforesaid proC gene in expressible form, together with P6C under conditions which allow these microorganisms to live and produce P5C reductase activity. As used herein, the expression “containing or integrating a particular gene in expressible form” means that the gene is integrated into a chromosome of a host cell, if necessary, together with a promoter, a regulator and the like; or that the gene is integrated into an expression vector together with a suitable promoter and the like, and then introduced into a host cell. The aforesaid conditions which allow the microorganisms to produce P5C reductase activity refer to conditions under which the respective microorganisms are viable and preferably culture conditions under which they can grow. These conditions are well known to those skilled in the art, and it would be easy for the those skilled in the art to determined the conditions with reference to the examples which will be given later.

The desired reaction may be carried out by adding P6C directly to a suspension or culture of a microorganism as described above. However, according to the present invention, it is preferable to feed P6C to the aforesaid reduction step using P5C reductase by combining it with the step of converting readily available L-lysine into P6C by the use of lysine 6-aminotransferase (LAT). Where Escherichia coli is used as a source of P5C reductase in such a combination, it is usually necessary to use a LAT enzyme system derived from foreign cells in combination with the enzyme system of Escherichia coli, because an enzyme system catalyzing the process of converting L-lysine into P6C is not present in Escherichia coli or, even if it is present, its activity is very low. LAT that can be used in such a combination is not limited by its origin, provided that it has an activity for converting L-lysine into P6C. A preferred example is LAT derived from Flavobacterium lutescens. Typical strains (e.g, IFO 3084 strain) of this microorganism are usually used for the bioassay of L-lysine and are known to have LAT activity [Soda et al., Biochemistry, 7(1968), 4102–4109; Ibid., 4110–4119]. Certain strains of F. lutescens have the ability to oxidize P6C to α-aminoadipic acid by the action of delta-1-piperideine-6-carboxylate dehydrogenase possessed thereby [Biochem. J. (1977), 327, 59–64]. Moreover, there is a possibility that L-pipecolic acid formed from P6C by P5C reductase or P6C reductase activity may be converted into other compounds through a further metabolic pathway. Consequently, when the enzyme system of this bacterium is used, it may usually happen that the conversion of L-lysine into L-pipecolic acid cannot be achieved or, even if this conversion occurs, L-pipecolic acid is not accumulated. Accordingly, in order to accomplish the purpose of the present invention, it is preferable to use a combination of enzyme systems derived from different types of cells (or microorganisms) as described above. Microorganisms having such a combination of enzyme systems include, but are not limited to, the aforesaid Escherichia coli into which, for example, the lat gene of F. lutescens encoding LAT is introduced in expressible form; conversely, F. lutescens into which the proC gene of Escherichia coli is introduced; and host microorganisms which can be suitably used for other purpose of the present invention and in which both lat and proC are introduced in expressible form. Each gene may be introduced into the host by means of a recombinant plasmid, or may be integrated directly into a chromosome of the host in expressible form. When F. lutescens is used as the host, there is a possibility that this microorganism may metabolize the formed L-pipecolic acid through a further metabolic pathway. Consequently, it may be necessary to use a variant in which such a metabolic pathway is blocked. As the enzyme system suitable for the purpose of converting L-lysine into L-pipecolic acid according to the present invention, an enzyme system constructed by using Escherichia coli (also serving as a source of proC in some cases) as the host and introducing thereinto at least the lat of F. lutescens can conveniently be used owing to the stability of the system, its ease of treatment, its high conversion efficiency and the like. Furthermore, when Escherichia coli is used as the host, an exogenous proC gene may be introduced in addition to the lat gene. Especially for the purpose of facilitating the incorporation of the starting material (i.e., L-lysine) into bacterial cells, it is preferable to introduce an exogenous gene encoding the lysine-specific incorporation (or permeation) enzyme of Escherichia coli (also referred to as a gene participating in the incorporation of lysine). Typical examples of such a gene include, but are not limited to, the gene (lysP) encoding a lysine-specific permease, and the genes (argT, hisP and hisQ) encoding proteins constituting the LAO system participating in the incorporation of lysine, arginine and ornithine. For example, according to J. Bacteriol., Vol. 174, 3242–3249, 1992, it is suggested that Escherichia coli into which the lysP gene has been introduced by means of a multicopy plasmid shows a 20-fold increase in lysine incorporation rate.

The above-described systems, which comprise combinations of enzyme systems or genes and can be used in the present invention, may be constructed or prepared according to techniques which are related to cytobiology, cell culture, molecular biology, microbiology and recombinant DNAs and are commonly used per se by those skilled in the art. As to these techniques, reference may be made, for example, to Molecular Cloning—A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed., ed. by Sambrook, Fritsch and Maniatis (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1989); DNA Cloning, Volumes I and II (D. N. Glover ed., 1985); Oligonucleotide Synthesis (M. J. Gait ed., 1984); Mullis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,195; and Nucleic Acid Hybridization (B. D. Hames & S. J. Higgins eds., 1984).

The construction or preparation of enzyme systems or microorganisms which can preferably be used in the present invention is more specifically described below in connection with embodiments in which Escherichia coli (hereinafter abbreviated as E. coli). However, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited by these embodiments.

Host-Vector System:

Commercially available strains and vectors may be suitably used. The embodiments described herein are such that Escherichia coli BL21(DE3), Escherichia coli BL21 or Escherichia coli C600 strain is used as the host and a pET or pUC system is used as the vector. As other vectors, the vectors conforming to “Guidelines for the Industrialization of Recombinant DNA Technology” (the Ministry of International Trade and Industry), Guideline, Section 2, No. 3, 2.(2) may preferably be used.

Cloning and Expression of the lat Gene:

LAT was purified from the culture supernatant of F. lutescens IFO 3084 strain by hydrophobicity chromatography, ion exchange chromatography and gel permeation chromatography. The enzyme activity of LAT was measured by a colorimetric method using o-aminobenzaldehyde (Biochemistry, Vol. 7, pp. 4102–4109, 1968). The N-terminus of the purified LAT was determined to be KLLAPLAPLRAHAGTRLTQGL. On the basis of this amino acid sequence, mix primers were designed and used in PCR to amplify DNA fragments of lat from the genomic DNA of F. lutescens IFO 3084 strain. Then, on the basis of the DNA fragments thus obtained, the entire lat gene of about 1.6 kbp size was obtained by inverse PCR. The DNA sequence of lat and the amino acid sequence of LAT are shown in SEQ ID NO:1. For further details about the cloning of the lat gene, reference may be made to International Application PCT/J99/04197 that is copending with the present application, if necessary.

From the so-determined base sequence of the lat gene, the following forward DNA primer in which a region in the neighborhood of the N-terminal ATG of the lat gene was altered to a NdeI site

ETlaNdeF: TCCATATGTCCCTTCTTGCCCCGCTCGCCC (SEQ ID NO:2) and the following reverse DNA primer in which a region downstream of the termination codon thereof was altered to a BamHI site

ETlaBamR: GCGGATCCTGTTGCCGCTGGTGCCGG- (SEQ ID NO:3) GCAG were prepared. Using these primers, PCR was carried out to amplify the lat gene region of about 1.6 kbp size. This amplified fragment was digested with the restriction enzymes NdeI and BamHI to prepare an insert DNA solution. On the other hand, the expression vector pET11a (manufactured by Novagen) was digested with the restriction enzymes NdeI and BamHI, and subjected to a ligation reaction with the insert DNA solution by means of Ligation Kit version 2 (manufactured by TaKaRa). The plasmid thus obtained was named pETlat. pETlat is a plasmid designed so as to bring about the expression of natural LAT protein. E. coli BL21(DE3) was transformed with this plasmid, and the resulting strain was named E. coli BL21(DE3)pETlat strain.

Next, the expression vector pET11a was replaced by pUC19, and E. coli BL21 strain was used as the host. From the aforesaid base sequence of the lat gene, the following forward DNA primer in which a region in the neighborhood of the N-terminal ATG of the lat gene was altered to a HindIII site

lathiF19: ATAAGCTTGTCCCTTCTTGCCCCGCTCGC (SEQ ID NO:4) was prepared and the following reverse DNA primer in which a region downstream of the termination codon thereof was altered to a BamHI site

ETlaBamR: GCGGATCCTGTTGCCGCTGGTGCCGGGCAG (SEQ ID NO:3) were prepared. Using these primers, PCR was carried out to amplify the lat gene region of about 1.6 kbp size. This amplified fragment was digested with the restriction enzymes HindIII and BamHI to prepare an insert DNA solution. On the other hand, the vector pUC19 was digested with the restriction enzymes HindIII and BamHI, and subjected to a ligation reaction with the insert DNA solution by means of Ligation Kit version 2 (manufactured by TaKaRa). The plasmid thus obtained was named pUClat (see FIG. 1). pUClat is a plasmid designed so as to bring about the expression of LacZ-LAT fusion protein. E. coli BL21 was transformed with this plasmid, and the resulting strain was named E. coli BL21pUClat strain.

When each of E. coli BL21(DE3)pETlat strain and E. coli BL21pUClat strain was cultured in a culture medium (1.5% Bacto tryptone, 3.0% yeast extract, 0.5% glycerol, pH 7) containing L-lysine, the accumulation of L-pipecolic acid in the culture medium was observed in both cases. This means that an enzyme capable of reducing P6C formed from L-lysine by a transamination reaction catalyzed by LAT is present in Escherichia coli used as the host.

A search was made for this P6C reduction enzyme. From the genetic information on the whole genome of Escherichia coli, it was supposed that the P5C reduction enzyme also reduced P6C. Then, the role of proC in L-pipecolic acid production was investigated by using E. coli RK4904 strain (obtained from the E. coil Genetic Stock Center of Yale University) that is a proC-deficient proC32 mutant strain. First, in order to examine the effect of proC (see SEQ ID NO:5), it was tried to introduce proC into pUClat. The following DNA primers having a KpnI site attached to an end thereof were prepared.

procKpnF: AGGGTACCATAAAATCGCGCATCGTCAGGC (SEQ ID NO:6) procKpnR: CCGGTACCGCCACAGGTAACTTTACGGATT (SEQ ID NO:7) Using these primers, PCR was carried out to amplify a proC-containing fragment of about 1.5 Kbp size. This amplified fragment of about 1.5 Kbp size was digested with the restriction enzyme KpnI to prepare an insert DNA solution. On the other hand, the plasmid pUClat was digested with the restriction enzyme KpnI, and subjected to a ligation reaction with the insert DNA solution by means of Ligation Kit version 2 (manufactured by TaKaRa). The resulting plasmid in which lat and proC are ligated so as to be oriented in the forward direction was named pUClatproC.

E. coli RK4904 was transformed with this plasmid, and the resulting strain was named E. coli RK4904pUClatproC strain. Moreover, a plasmid having proC alone was prepared. Specifically, pUClatproC was digested with the restriction enzymes BamHI and HindIII, blunt-ended by means of Blunting Kit (manufactured by TaKaRa), and subjected to a self-ligation reaction. The plasmid thus obtained was named pUCproC. E. coli RK4904 was transformed with this plasmid, and the resulting strain was named E. coli RK4904pUCproC strain. When L-pipecolic acid production tests were carried out by using the so-constructed E. coli RK4904pUC19 strain, E. coli RK4904pUClat strain, E. coli RK4904pUCproC strain and E. coli RK4904pUClatproC strain, E. coli RK4904pUClatproC strain alone showed the accumulation of L-pipecolic acid and the other strains showed no production of L-pipecolic acid.

These results indicate that L-pipecolic acid is produced only when both lat and proC are expressed in E. coli and that P5C reductase, which is a protein encoded by proC, also reduces P6C. To the present inventors' knowledge, no enzyme capable of reducing P6C has been described in the literature, and the present description discloses such an enzyme for the first time.

Cloning of the lysP Gene and Cointegration of the lysP and lat Genes:

According to the aforementioned J. Bacteriol., Vol. 174, 3242–3249, 1992, there is a possibility that the rate of the incorporation of lysine into Escherichia coli determines the rate of the production of L-pipecolic acid by Escherichia coli. Now, as described below, it was tried to introduce the lysP gene encoding a lysine-specific permease into the plasmid pETlat. From the genetic information on the sequence of the lysP gene of Escherichia coli (see SEQ ID NO:8), the following DNA primers having Bg/II and BamHI sites attached to an end thereof were prepared.

lysPBgBmF: TGAGATCTGGATCCTGCGTGAACGCGGTTC (SEQ ID NO:9) lysPBgBmR: GCAGATCTGGATCCCAGAAAGCCGGAACAG (SEQ ID NO:10) For the cloning of lysP, PCR was carried out by using these primers to amplify a lysP containing fragment of about 2.2 Kbp size. This amplified fragment of about 2.2 Kbp size was digested with the restriction enzyme Bg/II to prepare an insert DNA solution. On the other hand, pETlat was digested with the restriction enzyme Bg/II, and subjected to a ligation reaction with the insert DNA solution by means of Ligation Kit version 2 (manufactured by TaKaRa). The so-constructed plasmid in which lat and lysP are ligated so as to be oriented in the opposite directions was named pETlatlysP. E. coli BL21(DE3) was transformed with this plasmid, and the resulting strain was named E. coli BL21(DE3)pETlatlysP strain. When L-pipecolic acid production tests were carried out by using this E. coli BL21(DE3)pETlatlysP strain and E. coli BL21(DE3)pETlat strain (obtained by transformation with the previously prepared pETlat), it was confirmed that E. coli BL21(DE3)pETlatlysP strain produced L-pipecolic acid in a three times greater amount than E. coli BL21(DE3)pETlat strain.

Moreover, the aforesaid amplified fragment of about 2.2 Kbp size was digested with the restriction enzyme BamHI to prepare an insert DNA solution. On the other hand, pUClat was digested with the restriction enzyme BamHI, and subjected to a ligation reaction with the insert DNA solution by means of Ligation Kit version 2 (manufactured by TaKaRa). The so-constructed plasmid in which lat and lysP are ligated so as to be oriented in the forward direction was named pUClatlysP (see FIG. 1). E. coli BL21 was transformed with this plasmid, and the resulting strain was named E. coli BL21pUClatlysP strain. When L-pipecolic acid production tests were carried out by using this E. coli BL21pUClatlysP strain and E. coli BL21pUClat strain, it was confirmed that E. coli BL21pUClatlysP strain produced L-pipecolic acid in a three times greater amount than E. coli BL21pUClat strain. Thus, when Escherichia coli is used as the host, it is desirable to introduce the lysP gene thereinto. E. coli BL21pUClatlysP strain in accordance with the present invention was deposited on Dec. 20, 1999 with the National Institute of Bioscience and Human-Technology, the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology (1–3, Higashi 1-chome, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan) and assigned the accession number FERM P-17681. Thereafter, the aforesaid deposition was transferred to the international deposition department of the institute under the provisions of the so-called Budapest Treaty and assigned the accession number FERM BP-7326.

Introduction of the yeiE Gene:

In order to improve the L-pipecolic acid-producing ability of BL21pUClatlysP strain, it was tried to further enhance the activity of lysP. The E. coli genome project has revealed the DNA sequence of a region around lysP This indicates that the yeiE gene (see SEQ ID NO:11) arranged in tandem with lysP is present on the upstream side of lysP. From its amino acid sequence, it is suggested that yeiE is a lysR type transcriptional regulator sequence which is frequently retained in bacteria. Since it was supposed that this yeiE might control the transcription of lysP, it was expected that the L-pipecolic acid-producing ability could be improved by integrating both yeiE and lysP into a plasmid to increase the transcription of lysP and thereby enhance the ability to incorporate L-lysine.

The plasmid pUClatlysPL was constructed as described below. The following forward DNA primer having a Bg/II site attached to an end thereof

ATAGATCTCTTGTTGCCTAAAACCATCCCCAA (SEQ ID NO:12) and the following reverse DNA primer having a KpnI site attached to an end thereof

GTGGTACCCCCCAGAAAGCCGGAACAGCCTC (SEQ ID NO:13) were prepared. Using these primers, PCR was carried out to amplify a yeiE- and lysP-containing region of about 3 Kbp size. This amplified fragment was digested with the restriction enzymes Bg/III and KpnI to prepare an insert DNA solution. On the other hand, pUClatlysP was digested with the restriction enzymes BamHI and KpnI, and subjected to a ligation reaction with the insert DNA solution by means of Ligation Kit version 2 (manufactured by TaKaRa). The plasmid thus obtained was named pUClatlysPL (see FIG. 1). E. coli BL21 was transformed with this plasmid, and the resulting strain was named E. coli BL21pUClatlysPL strain. Cloning and Introduction of the argT Gene:

It is known that the expression of lysP is suppressed at high lysine concentrations and induced at low lysine concentrations [J. Bacteriol. (1996), Vol., 178, 5522–5528]. Accordingly, it was planned to introduce an additional gene participating the incorporation of lysine into cells. Up to this time, it is known that a system for the incorporation of lysine, arginine and ornithine into cells (i.e., the LAO system) is present in Escherichia coli [Journal of Biological Chemistry, Vol. 265, pp. 1783–1786 (1990)]. Moreover, since the argT gene of Escherichia coli clarified by the genome project has high homology with the argT gene of Salmonella typhimurium shown to participate in the LAO system [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 78, pp. 6038–6042 (1981)], it was expected that the argT gene of Escherichia coli was highly likely to participate in the incorporation of lysine.

Now, in order to examine the effect of argT, the plasmid pUClatargT having lat and argT integrated thereinto were constructed as described below. The following primers were prepared.

argTkpnF: TCGGTACCTCGACATTTTGTTTCTGCC (SEQ ID NO:14) argTkpnR: ATGGTACCATAAAATTGACCATCAAGG (SEQ ID NO:15) Using these primers and a template comprising the genomic DNA of Escherichia coli, PCR was carried out to amplify argT. The reaction conditions were such that one cycle consisted of 98° C./20 seconds, 60° C./30 seconds and 68° C./1 minute, and this cycle was repeated 25 times. This amplified fragment of about 1.5 Kbp was digested with the restriction enzyme KpnI and inserted into the KpnI site of pUClatlysPL. Moreover, the tetracycline resistance gene was inserted into the ScaI site of the resulting plasmid. Specifically, the following primers having a ScaI site added to an end thereof were prepared.

TetF: TTAGTACTCTTATCATCGATAAGCTTTAAT (SEQ ID NO:16) TetR: GCAGTACTACAGTTCTCCGCAAGAATTGAT (SEQ ID NO:17) Using these primers and a template comprising pBR322, PCR was carried out to amplify the tetracycline resistance gene. This gene was inserted into the ScaI site present in the ampicillin resistance gene of pUClatlysPL, and the resulting plasmid was named pUClatlysPLargT-tet. This plasmid was introduced into E. coli BL21 strain, and the resulting strain was named E. coli BL21pUClatlysPLargT-tet strain. The DNA sequence and amino acid sequence of argT are shown in SEQ ID NO:18. Construction and Expression of a lat Transformant in a Coryneform Bacterium:

As described above, there has been established an L-pipecolic acid production system based on the conversion of L-lysine into L-pipecolic acid by the use of a lat-expressing strain of Escherichia coli. In this system using a recombinant strain of Escherichia coli, it has been suggested that, in some cases, the incorporation of L-lysine into cells determines the rate of production of L-pipecolic acid. Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide a direct L-pipecolic acid-producing bacterium which produces L-lysine by itself and converts it into pipecolic acid without requiring the addition of L-lysine to the culture medium. This provision can be accomplished according to the following strategy. L-lysine is produced in large amounts by fermentation with Corynebacterium glutamicum. Then, if lat can be integrated into the pC2 plasmid [PLASMID, Vol. 36, 62–66 (1996)] established as a vector system for C. glutamicum and this plasmid can be introduced into C. glutamicum ATCC31831 strain to bring about the expression of lat, L-lysine biosynthesized in its cells will be converted into P6C and this P6C will further be converted into pipecolic acid by the action of pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase produced by the expression of proC encoded in the genome of C. glutamicum. The validity of this strategy can be ascertained, for example, by carrying out the following experiment.

Using the aforesaid plasmid pC2 plasmid, the plasmid pClat for the expression of lat was constructed as described below. The following forward DNA primers were prepared.

ClatBamF: GGGGTACCCATGTCCCTTCTTGCCCCGCT (SEQ ID NO:19) ClatBamR: GGGGATCCCGCGGCCTGTTGCCGCTGGT (SEQ ID NO:20) Using these primers and a template comprising the genomic DNA of Flavobacterium lutescens, PCR was carried out to amplify lat. The reaction conditions were such that one cycle consisted of 98° C./20 seconds and 68° C./2 minutes, and this cycle was repeated 25 times. This amplified fragment of about 1.5 Kbp was digested with the restriction enzymes KpnI and BamHI, and ligated into the KpnI and BamHI sites of pC2 (FIG. 2). This plasmid pClat was introduced into E. coli JM109 strain. Using the strain thus obtained, it was confirmed that the conversion of L-lysine into pipecolic acid proceeded, i.e. the strain had LAT activity.

Subsequently, C. glutamicum was transformed with pClat. For example, C. glutamicium was inoculated into 3 ml of L medium and incubated at 32° C. for 17 hours with shaking. 30 μl of the resulting culture was inoculated into 3 ml of L medium and incubated at 32° C. for 2.5 hours with shaking. Then, 1.5 μl of a penicillin G potassium solution (2 mg/ml) was added thereto, and the incubation was continued for an additional 1.5 hours with shaking. The total amount of cells were collected, washed with 5 ml of a 10% glycerol solution, and suspended in 700 μl of a 10% glycerol solution to prepare an electro-cell suspension. 0.2 μl of the plasmid dissolved in a TE solution (200 μg/ml) was added to 200 μl of the electro-cell suspension, and subjected to electroporation under conditions including 12.5 kV/cm, 25 μF and 200 Ω. After 1 ml of L medium was added thereto and this mixture was incubated at 32° C. for 2 hours, the resulting culture was spread over an L plate containing 10 μl/ml of kanamycin, and incubated at 32° C. for 3 days. Desired transformants can be obtained by screening the colonies so formed.

As used herein, the term “coryneform bacterium” comprehends any species that typically belongs to the genus Corynebacterium, produces L-lysine, and meets the purposes of the present invention.

Alterations of the Above-Described Genes or DNA Sequences:

According to the present invention, the genes or DNAs encoding the above-described various enzymes, i.e. the gene encoding lysine 6-aminotransferase, the gene encoding pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase, the gene encoding a lysine-specific incorporation enzyme, and the gene regulating the transcription of lysP, also comprehend any alterations thereof, provided that such alterations can hybridize with the respective genes (see, for example, SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:5, SEQ ID NO:8, SEQ ID NO:11 and SEQ ID NO:18) under stringent conditions and the polypeptides produced by the expression thereof have respective desired enzyme activities.

Stringent conditions are well known to those skilled in the art and are described, for example, in the aforementioned manual by Sambrook et al., pp. 9.31–9.62. Such alterations may be made according to per se known techniques such as point mutagenesis, site-directed mutagenesis and chemical synthesis, by examining, as an index, whether they have the deletion or addition of one or more amino acids which are not essential to the desired enzyme activity or exert no adverse influence thereon, or whether they have a substitution between amino acid residues having a similar side chain, such as amino acid residues having a basic side chain (lysine, arginine, histidine, etc.), an acidic side chain (aspartic acid, glutamic acid, etc.), an uncharged polar side chain (glycine, asparagine, glutamine, serine, threonine, tyrosine, cysteine, etc.), a nonpolar side chain (alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, proline, phenylalanine, methionine, tryptophan, etc.), a β-branched side chain (e.g., threonine, valine, isoleucine, etc.) or an aromatic side chain (e.g., tyrosine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, histidine, etc.). Moreover, the transformation of host cells with such genes may be carried out according to the previously described procedures or methods which are well known to those skilled in the art.

In order to confirm that the resulting pipecolic acid was the L-form, HPLC using a chiral column (Agric. Biol. Chem., Vol. 52, pp. 1113–1116, 1988) was employed. Using a DAICEL CHIRAL PAK WH (4.6×250 mm; manufactured by Daicel) as the column and a 0.25 mM aqueous solution of copper sulfate as the mobile phase, HPLC was carried out at a column temperature of 50° C. and a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. Detection was carried out at an ultraviolet wavelength of 243 nm. Under these conditions for HPLC, the retention time of D-pipecolic acid is 11.5 minutes and the retention time of L-pipecolic acid is 15 minutes. When the pipecolic acid produced by the recombinant strains of Escherichia coli in accordance with the present invention was analyzed, the retention time of the pipecolic acid so produced was 15 minutes.

EXAMPLES

The present invention is more specifically explained with reference to the following examples.

In these examples, L-pipecolic acid was determined by dansylating it and then subjecting it to high-performance liquid chromatography (hereinafter abbreviated as HPLC) while using proline as an internal standard. Specifically, after the culture supernatant was diluted 100-fold with distilled water, 10 μl was transferred to an Eppen tube, and 200 μl of a 40 mM lithium carbonate buffer (pH 9.5) containing 5 μg/ml proline and 100 μl of an acetonitrile solution containing 3.0 mg/ml dansyl chloride were added thereto. The resulting mixture was stirred and reacted in the dark at room temperature for 2 hours. After 10 μl of 2% methylamine hydrochloride was added thereto with stirring, the resulting supernatant was used as an analytical sample. As to the analytical conditions for HPLC, the column was YMC-Pack ODS-A A-303 (4.6×250 mm; manufactured by YMC), the mobile phase was a 33.2% acetonitrile solution containing 0.003 M L-proline, 0.0015 M copper sulfate and 0.0039 M ammonium acetate (adjusted to pH 7 with aqueous ammonia), elution was carried out at a flow rate of 0.8 ml/min and at room temperature, and detection was carried out at an excitation wavelength of 366 nm and a fluorescence wavelength of 510 nm. Under these conditions, the retention time of L-pipecolic acid was 13 minutes.

Example 1

L-Pipecolic acid production tests were carried out with respect to E. coli BL21pUClatlysP (FERM BP-7326) strain, E. coli BL21(DE3)pETlatlysP strain, E. coli C600pUClatlysP strain and E. coli BL21pUClatlysPL strain. Each strain was inoculated into 3 ml of L medium (1.0% polypeptone, 0.5% yeast extract, 0.5% NaCl, 0.1% glucose, pH 7.2) containing 50 μg/ml ampicillin sodium, and incubated at 32° C. overnight with shaking. The resulting cultures were used seed cultures, and 275 μl of each seed culture was inoculated into 27.5 ml of TB medium (0.44% glycerol, 1.33% Bacto-trypton, 2.67% Bacto-yeast extract, 0.21% KH₂PO₄, 1.14% K₂HPO₄) containing 100 μg/ml ampicillin sodium, and incubated at 32° C. for 4.5 hours with shaking. In the culture of a microorganism formed with a pET vector, such as E. coli BL21(DE3)pETlatlysP, 275 μl of 100 mM isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) was added for the purpose of inducing lat, and the incubation was continued at 32° C. for an additional 4 hours with shaking. In contrast, when a pUC vector was used, the addition of IPTG was unnecessary. Subsequently, 500 μl of 50% L-lysine hydrochloride and 250 μl of 50% glycerol dissolved in a phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) were added to each culture, and the incubation was continued at 32° C. with shaking. Furthermore, 15 hours, 39 hours, 63 hours, 87 hours, 120 hours and 159 hours after the addition of L-lysine hydrochloride, 500 μl of 50% L-lysine hydrochloride and 500 μl of 50% glycerol dissolved in a phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) were added. One hundred-μl samples were taken after 15 hours, 39 hours, 63 hours, 87 hours, 120 hours, 159 hours and 207 hours, and their pipecolic acid content was determined by HPLC. As a result, each strain accumulated L-pipecolic acid in the culture medium at the following concentration.

E. coli BL21pUClatlysP 10 g/l, E. coli BL21(DE3)pETlatlysP 26 g/l, E. coli C600pUClatlysP 0.8 g/l, and E. coli BL21pUClatlysPL 15 g/l.

Example 2

In order to elucidate the role of P5C reductase in L-pipecolic acid production, the ability to produce L-pipecolic acid was examined with respect to four recombinant strains formed by using proC-deficient E. coil RK4904 strain as the host, namely E. coli RK4904pUC19 strain, E. coli RK4904pUClat strain, E. coli RK4904pUCproC strain and E. coli RK4904pUClatproC strain. Each strain was inoculated into 3 ml of L medium (1.0% polypeptone, 0.5% yeast extract, 0.5% NaCl, 0.1% glucose, pH 7.2) containing 50 μg/ml ampicillin sodium, and incubated at 32° C. overnight with shaking. The resulting cultures were used seed cultures, and 275 μl of each seed culture was inoculated into 27.5 ml of TB medium (0.44% glycerol, 1.33% Bacto-trypton, 2.67% Bacto-yeast extract, 0.21% KH₂PO₄, 1.14% K₂HPO₄) containing 50 μg/ml ampicillin sodium, and incubated at 32° C. for 8 hours with shaking. Then, 500 μl of 50% L-lysine hydrochloride and 500 μl of 50% glycerol dissolved in a phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) were added thereto, and the incubation was continued at 32° C. with shaking. A 100-μl sample was taken after 40 hours, and L-pipecolic acid was determined by HPLC. As a result, E. coli RK4904pUClatproC strain alone showed the accumulation of 0.765 g/l of L-pipecolic acid, and the other strains showed no accumulation of pipecolic acid.

Example 3

An investigation on the carbon source of the culture medium was carried out by using E. coli C600pUClatlysP strain. As to the composition of the culture medium, there were used culture media obtained by substituting various carbon sources for the glycerol of TB medium (0.44% glycerol, 1.33% Bacto-trypton, 2.67% Bacto-yeast extract, 0.21% KH₂PO₄, 1.14% K₂HPO₄). As carbon sources, glycerol, sodium pyruvate, citric acid, propionic acid, maleic acid, lactic acid and DL-malic acid were examined. 25 ml of each culture medium was placed in a 250-ml Erlenmeyer flask and incubated at 32° C. with shaking. The amount of L-pipecolic acid accumulated after 24 hours of incubation was 4.8 g/l, 3.3 g/l, 2.8 g/l, 2.6 g/l, 3.5 g/l, 4.7 g/l and 4.7 g/l, respectively. This indicates that organic acids can be used as carbon sources in the present invention.

Example 4 Production of L-Pipecolic Acid With Disintegrated Bacterial Cells

Each of E. coli RK4904pUC19 strain, E. coli RK4904pUClat strain, E. coli RK4904pUCproC strain and E. coli RK4904pUClatproC strain was inoculated into 3 ml of L medium containing 50 μg/ml ampicillin sodium, and incubated at 32° C. overnight with shaking. The resulting cultures were used seed cultures, and 275 μl of each seed culture was inoculated into 50 ml of L medium containing 50 μg/ml ampicillin sodium, and incubated at 32° C. for 8 hours with shaking. After this culture was centrifuged, the cells were washed with 0.85% NaCl and 2 ml of BugBuster (Novagen) was added thereto. The resulting supernatant was used as a disintegrated cell suspension. To 100 μl of each disintegrated cell suspension was added 1 ml of a 0.2 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.2) containing 20 μmol L-lysine-HCl, 20 μmol 2-ketoglutaric acid, 0.075 μmol pyridoxal phosphate and 200 μmol NADH, followed by standing at 32° C. for 15 hours. 5 μl each of the resulting reaction mixtures were spotted onto a TLC plate (Merck Art. 13143), developed with a developing solvent (1-butanol-acetic acid-water =3:1:1), and then treated with ninhydrin to produce a color. As a result, a spot of L-pipecolic acid was observed for the disintegrated cell suspension of E. coli RK4904pUClatproC strain. This indicates that, also in an in vitro reaction, L-pipecolic acid is produced by the action of LAT formed from the lat gene encoded on the plasmid and pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase formed from proC.

Example 5

Similarly to pUClatlysPLargT-tet, the plasmid pUClatlysPL-tet was constructed by introducing the tetracycline resistance gene into the ScaI site of pUClatlysPL. Using these plasmids, the following conversion reaction was carried out.

Each of the frozen seed cultures of two bacterial strains, E. coli BL21 pUClatlysPLargT-tet strain and E. coli BL21 pUClatlysPL-tet strain, was inoculated into L medium (3 ml/centrifuge tube) containing 25 μg/ml tetracycline, and incubated at 32° C. for 18 hours on a rotary shaker. Then, 500 μl of each seed cultures was inoculated into TB medium (27.5 ml/centrifuge tube) containing 25 μg/ml tetracycline, and incubated at 32° C. for 24 hours on a rotary shaker. After completion of the incubation, the O.D. at 660 nm was 3.98 and 9.38, respectively. Cells were collected from each of the resulting cultures (4.71 ml and 2.00 ml, respectively). After 1 ml of a 25 mM phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) was added to the collected cells, 20 μl of a 20% L-lysine solution and 20 μl of 20% glycerol were added to initiate the conversion reaction at 32° C. Two hours, 7 hours and 24 hours after the start of the reaction, 100-μl samples were taken and their pipecolic acid and lysine contents were determined by HPLC.

The amounts of pipecolic acid accumulated after 2 hours, 7 hours and 24 hours of the conversion reaction were 0.36 g/l, 0.73 g/l and 2.0 g/l, respectively, for E. coli BL21 pUClatlysPLargT-tet strain; and 0.88 g/l, 1.3 g/l and 1.4 g/l, respectively, for E. coli BL21 pUClatlysPL-tet strain. Thus, the pipecolic acid production rate of E. coli BL21 pUClatlysPL-tet strain decreased gradually, whereas E. coli BL21 pUClatlysPLargT-tet strain maintained an almost constant pipecolic acid production rate, though its initial pipecolic acid production rate was somewhat inferior. This pipecolic acid production rate corresponded exactly with the lysine consumption rate. The role of the argT gene in pipecolic acid production was confirmed by these experimental results.

Example 6

A culture test was carried out with respect to the lat transformed strain of a coryneform bacterium, namely C. glutamicum ATCC31831 pClat strain. As a control, C. glutamicum ATCC31831 pC2 strain having a lat-free plasmid was also tested in the same manner. After these two strains were grown in agar plates to form colonies, these colonies were inoculated into test tubes in which 3 ml of L medium containing 20 μg/ml kanamycin was placed, and incubated at 32° C. for 18 hours on a rotary shaker. 275 μl each of the resulting cultures were inoculated into 250-ml Erlenmeyer flasks in which 27.5 ml of TB medium containing 20 μg/ml kanamycin was placed, and incubated at 32° C. on a rotary shaker. Five hours, 15 hours, 39 hours and 63 hours after the start of the incubation, 550 μl portions of 50% glycerol dissolved in a phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) were added thereto. The incubation was discontinued 135 hours after the start of the addition of glycerol, and the pipecolic acid content of the culture supernatant was determined by HPLC. As a result, C. glutamicum ATCC31831 pClat strain accumulated about 0.7 g/l of pipecolic acid in 135 hours after the first addition of glycerol. On the other hand, the control (C. glutamicum ATCC31831 pC2 strain) showed no accumulation of pipecolic acid. This indicates that the lat gene introduced by means of a plasmid is also expressed in the coryneform bacterium and that the pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (proC gene) of the coryneform bacterium reduces P6C converted from lysine by the action of LAT and thereby produces pipecolic acid. 

1. A process for the production of L-pipecolic acid which comprises the step of reducing delta-1-piperideine-6-carboxylic acid by the use of pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase, wherein the delta-1-piperideine-6-carboxylic acid is obtained by the step of converting L-lysine by the use of lysine 6-aminotransferase encoded by a gene of Flavobacterium lutescens.
 2. The process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase is encoded by a gene of Escherichia coli or a coryneform bacterium.
 3. The process as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of reducing delta-1-piperideine-6-carboxylic acid and the step of converting L-lysine into L-pipecolic acid by the use of lysine 6-aminotransferase are carried out by using a bacterium transformed with a gene encoding lysine 6-aminotransferase wherein such bacterium comprises pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase. 